The FTSE 100 resumed its upward path this morning, shaking off the last two days of losses, as more strength in banks and upbeat corporate news provided fresh impetus.

The index was up 46.9 points, or 1%, at 4694 by 10am.

More economic data suggesting the worst of the downturn may be over lent extra support to the market, building on Wednesday's stronger-than-expected reports.

Today, industry figures showed new car registrations posted their first annual increase in 15 months in July, although they fell month-on-month. The next focus for the market will be the Bank of England's latest policy decision at midday.

In company news, Unilever and Aviva beat expectations with their latest results and ITV reassured investors that it expects the pace of advertising revenue decline to ease.

Shampoo to ice-cream group Unilever was up 79p, or 5.1%, to £16.24 after second-quarter sales growth beat City forecasts. The company said underlying sales growth was 4.1%, driven partly by increased marketing spend.

Chief executive Paul Polman comments:

While conditions remain difficult in many markets, I am encouraged by the return to volume growth across all regions and the majority of countries and categories.

More of our brands are improving share again behind strong innovations, greater consumer value, increased marketing support and better execution. We continue to focus on restoring volume growth while protecting margins and cash flow for the year as a whole.

Aviva was one of the top risers after the insurer reported a bigger-than-expected first-half profit. The shares rose 22.7p, or 6.4%, to 379p.

The insurer is also slashing its dividend by 31% to 9p per share, but that was a smaller cut than some in the market had feared. Andrew Moss, chief executive, admitted that the financial crisis has made the last six months a challenge.

Aviva also said it plans a partial flotation of its Dutch subsidiary Delta Lloyd.

Banks were also in demand, with Royal Bank of Scotland up 3.6p, or 7.4%, to 52.3p ahead of results tomorrow. The shares have risen 17% over the course of this week. Lloyds Banking Group rose 6.6p, or 7%, to 99.75p.

Among the midcaps, Ladbrokes is up 4.3p, or 2.6%, at 171.8p after its results. ITV is up 1.5p to 43.5p.

Carpetright remains one of the biggest risers after Wednesday's results, up 73p, or 9.5%, to 841.5p.